As previoulsy stated, besides reducing electric power consumption, an effi cient electrical installation reduces its costs of operation. For a better understanding, each one of these costs is explained in detail hereafter:

Technical costs

What are theyTechnical costs are understood to be the loss of capacity in transporation and distribution, as well as heating (electrical losses), disturbances and voltage drops in the electrical installations and systems.

What are they caused byThe following causes are responsible for this technical saturation in the electrical installations:

Peaks of maximum demand

Existence of reactive power

Existence of harmonic currents

Lines with unbalanced loads

Use of non effi cient receivers

How are they reducedTechnical costs are reduced as follows:

Reactive energy compensation

Harmonic fi ltering

Phases balancing

Damping peaks of maximum demand and relocating these consumptions in valley periods

Which are the benefi ts of improving technical costs

Less energy consumption

Improved effi ciency in the electric installations by better taking advantage of the distribution lines and transformers

Decreasing of losses and heating in lines and equipment

Decreasing of number of breakdowns

Continuity of electrical service

Decreasing of the economical costs

Economical costs

What are theyThese are the costs of a bill that is not optimized and the amount resulting from the technical costs generated. They can be classifi ed as follows:

Visible costs

Hidden costs

1- Visible costs

These are the costs included in the electricity bill:

Power contracted not appropriate

Electricity tariff not appropriate

Hourly energy consumption

Demand peaks

Reactive energy consumption

How are they reducedBy studying the electricity bill, the actions needed to reduce the global cost can be defi ned.

Adjust the contracted power and change the tariff if necessary. This can be done at almost no cost. Nonetheless, before adjusting the contracted power or tariff, it is recommended to study the processes and the power consumption to see if the demand is adjusted to the real needs

Eliminating extra charge or cost of reactive energy by its compensation. To do this, a capacitor bank is installed, which in most cases pays for itself within a few months after installation

Damping the peaks of maximum demand. This consists of not exceeding the maximum allowable power permitted by the utility, and when possible, relocating loads when the energy demand is reduced

2- Hidden costs

What are they- All unnecessary energy consumption. So, the costs due to unnecessary power and energy consumptions or due to can be dispensable certain time- All the costs origined as a consequence of the technical costs and the use of receivers that can generate disturbances. Although they are not obvious, they can represent a signifi cant company expense. These are divided into two types:

Electrical installation costs

Extension of the electrical installations due to:

Overload of distribution lines

Overload of transformers

Losses in distribution due to the Joule effect. This concept is especially important in electric distribution and in industrial plants with long distance lines

By performing an effi ciency study of the building or industrial plant.

By correcting the technical costs explained in the previous point.

Which are the benefits of improving visible and hidden economical costs

Reduced energy consumption

Decrease of the electricity bill

No need to invest in the extension of installations due to the lack of capacity

Productivity improving by reducing the number of breakdowns and stoppages

Ecological costs

What are theyCO2 emissions produced by the consumption of unnecessary energy.To give an idea of its magnitude, 1 MW·h generated by fossil fuels emits 1 ton of CO2. If considering mixed electric energy generated by fossil fules and renewable energy sources, the ratio is approximately 0.6 tons of CO2 per MW·h.

How are they reducedBy making a general proposal to reduce global energy consumption in an industrial plant or building. So that, an initial diagnosis is required to determine the following points:

Energy consumption habits

Current condition of the installation

Installation of equipment that permits controlling and monitoring the energy consumption in the electric installations